


fireteam alpha

by destinytrashboi



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Anagrams, Basically all original characters, Just one though, Lots of guns, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-12-31 23:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18323708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinytrashboi/pseuds/destinytrashboi
Summary: “When you stopped Ghaul, you began a campaign to finally, truly drive the forces of the Darkness out of the solar system. And here, our tale begins on Earth, directly where it started- the Ruins of the Cosmodrome on Earth.”





	1. Chapter 1

_“Dad, do a new story tonight!”_

_“A new one!? We haven’t even finished The Final Stand on Io-“_

_“Pleeeeease Dad?”_

_“Okay. Okay, we’ll start a new story. Hmmm...”_

_“Dad?”_

_“Sorry, just thinking. How about something that’s more of a tale?”_

_“Aren’t they all?”_

_“Yes. But I mean... like a sort of fairytale.”_

_“Oh, okay! I think my book from the Golden Age is over there-“_

_“No son, this one is one you haven’t heard before. It’s the tale of a special Guardian. It’s the tale of you.”_

_“Me!?”_

_“Yes. And we’re starting in the middle of it now.”_

_“Okay, okay, before you start, can you hand me Eli?”_

_“Here you go. So, you, son. You awoke in the ruins of the Cosmodrome. You unleashed the Traveler’s power, you stormed upon the Glass Throne. You brought down Gods, both machine and rotten flesh. You blazed across the universe with your light. But you did not do it alone.”_

_“Oh, oh! I had friends?”_

_“Of course! You were known as Fireteam Alpha, one step behind the Vanguard leaders themselves. Four of you- what do you think the others were named?”_

_“Hmmmm.... can one be a Exo, like uncle Kazian?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“Okay, okay- he’s my best friend! A-a-and a Warlock too, like I wanna be! Uhm... Fury-Eight!”_

_“Eight?”_

_“He’s had a lot of misadventures.”_

_“Okay, okay. Next?”_

_“A badass-“_

_“Language, Evax!”_

_“Sorry! Uhm, a badbutt gunslinger Hunter.... Human... Rose! I have a friend at school named Rose, wait until she hears this!”_

_“I’m sure she’ll be very excited. Now, one more.”_

_“Hmmm...”_

_“The names aren’t that important, son.”_

_“Yes, they are! I got one anyways. He’s a Titan, Awoken like us! He has a light brighter than anyone else. Travion!”_

_“Alright. Fireteam Alpha- Evax, Fury-Eight, Rose, and Travion. Four legendary Guardians. The very sight of you all struck fear in the hearts of the minions of the Darkness. When you all ended Ghaul’s assault on the Last City-“_

_“Ghaul?”_

_“A tale for another time. When you stopped Ghaul, you began a campaign to finally, truly drive the forces of the Darkness out of the solar system. And here, our tale begins on Earth, directly where it started- the Ruins of the Cosmodrome on Earth.”_

 

**FIRETEAM ALPHA**

**CHAPTER ONE**

 

“EVAX!”

The roar was heard across the massive room easily, above the screeching metal, the blasts of energy, and the almighty roar of the machine god Sepiks. Amid the chaos, a man wove through the red tinged web of enemies, a machine gun held in his right hand, blazing a path before him. Adorned in a black and gold tunic, the Guardian paid no mind to the shout. Under his helmet, sweat poured down his purple skinned face; a well aimed blast from a SIVA-enhanced Fallen Dreg had knackered the cooling system in his armor. Cradled in his left hand, he held a vibrating ball of clear glassteel, only barely containing the buzzing purplish particulates of reprogrammed SIVA nanites, an inoculation against what had been their own.

“EVAX!”

This shout now came from someone else. Evax spared a glance to the origin, eyes falling on Rose Churchill and the Fallen Vandals that had cornered her. With a shout, she drew upon the Light within her, and fiery energy, like that of the sun, burst from her body; aiming her handcannon, with sharp precision, she shot five bullets within a second. The targets exploded spectacularly, releasing clouds of red nanotechnology, lost without a host. Evax took a deep breath, flipping his gun onto his shoulder and squeezing the trigger; a Vandal fell, the SIVA particulates that had replaced its ether lifesblood pouring out. Another burst of Light, and a bulkily armored man burst through a knot of Fallen, electricity crackling around his red and white armor.

“Dammit Evax, we can’t stall much longer!” Travion said, his shotgun, the Lord of Wolves, shimmering into existence within his hands, as he continued carving down Fallen.

“Eli’s scanners picked up something! Trust me, if we wait, it’ll be perfect!” Evax yelled back, referring to his Ghost. Travion groaned mightily.

“Don’t be an idiot!” Fury-Eight said, weaving between the waves, two Old Fashioned Hand cannons blasting death wherever he aimed.

“The damn Servitor has an engram! I’m trying to find the perfect place to shoot him so I don’t destroy it!” Evax said. Eli, knowing how his chosen Guardian was about loot, had picked up the signal of the element, matter turned converted into information then stored into a crystal. It seemed Sepiks liked loot too, though he hadn’t much use for it.

“All this for loot?!” Travion roared, wrangling a Fallen Dreg’s head in his arm and shooting it.

“Gotta respect it!” Fury-Eight yelled back, gracefully vaulting over a group of Vandals and shooting them down as he flew over their heads.

“I’m gonna shoot him, I swear!” Rose shouted, but she was drowned out as Sepiks let out a grinding screech, lighting with red energy, its metal panels extending.

“NOW!” Evax screamed, looking at Fury-Eight, who nodded and started running forward.

Evax lobbed the glassteel container up at the point he’d determined. With Dregs and Vandals behind him, Fury ran to the point where he could take aim. Evax jumped high into the air, watching with eyes wide as Fury took his shot; one bullet blew through the container, the other punching its way into Sepiks’ metal flesh. There was something like a pause, and then the anti-SIVA nanites spread to Sepiks, converting its SIVA; then the rain of purple spread, The Fallen roaring as their New Great Machines were ripped from their bodies. The room’s red glow was slowly replaced by a less harsher purple hue. Evax landed back down on the ground, crystallized fragments of SIVA energy cracking under his boots. He watched with bated breath as the husk of Sepiks disintegrated, and had to hold back a victorious scream as a gold dodecahedron began falling; he ran under it, catching it easily. He stared at it, with his eyes wide under his helmet; he turned to look at his friends.

“Guys, it’s gold!”

Rose was shaking her head; Travion was pointedly ignoring him; and Fury-Eight was giving him a silent thumbs up.

“Guys?”

 

 

///

 

_“You think I’d stall during a battle just for an engram?”_

_”Yes son. Yes I do.”_

_”Fiiiine. What happens next?”_

_”Well...”_

_”WAIT! What did I get?”_

 

 

///

 

 

“A..... a..... a..... Gjallarhorn?!?”

Evax watched, eyes wide, jaw slack, as the Cryptarch presented him with the rocket launcher; residual golden energy flowed around the weapon, and faded away. Fury-Eight grabbed the back of a chair for support, his blue eyes glowing brighter as he stared at the rocket launcher. Rose’s eyebrows steadily approached her hairline, her normally cool exterior dropping slightly. And Travion, oh how Evax cherished his reaction. Travion, who had shouted at Evax constantly over the comms for the entire ship ride back to the tower. But now, Travion’s eyes were feasting on the rocket launcher. His orange eyes met Evax’s, who smirked and mouthed ‘mine.’ Travion put on an incredible frown, making a show of it, and Evax chuckled. He summoned his Ghost, Eli, who scanned the launcher; it disappeared in glittering blue light, now ready for use whenever he needed it.

“Well, team. What now?” Evax said, still with cocky smirk.

Travion walked out of the Cryptarch’s room, muttering bitterly, while Rose shook her head (in what Evax assumed to be incredible jealousy). Fury approached slowly, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he saw.

“We couldn’t even get a Gjallarhorn off that nutter Xur. You found it off of a servitor.”

“Well, a Fallen machine god servitor...”

There was a moment of silence, before they both began laughing raucously.

“Dude, imagine what we can do with that!” Fury said, putting his arm around Evax good naturedly as they walked out of the Cryptarch’s quarters and into the open air of the tower.

“How many servitors would fall to it?” Evax said.

“How many Hive gods? We haven’t meant the worms yet...” Fury felt a chill cross across his nerve sensors at just the thought. Evax’s eyes widened slightly, so Fury was quick to brush past the utterance.

“The Axis Minds of the Vex!” Fury said quickly. Evax considered a moment, before shrugging.

“I would say Calus, but he’s sort of an ally, isn’t he?”

“Certainly passed on some excellent gear to us.” Fury supplied, his eyes on the Traveler, magnificently floating above the city, slowly spinning.

“And he backed the Leviathan off of Nessus. Sort of... floating on the outskirts now.” Evax wondered idly if Calus would move to action alongside the City; questions for another time.

“Kind of him.” Fury-Eight said with a chuckle. They approached the outer deck of the Tower at last, eyes falling to the other members of their fireteam.

Travion had wandered to the foremost portion of the Tower’s deck, a place often occupied by the Titan Vanguard Commander, Zavala. Forearms against the railing, leaning forward, he watched the City below. Rose was precariously seated on the railing, polishing her rather scary looking knife.

“I’ll admit...” Travion said quietly as Evax and Fury approached. “It was probably worth the stalling.”

“No doubt,” Rose spoke up. “Much more useful than the weak old baby-Guardian fusion rifle you were milling about with.”

“We could raze an entire Cabal squadron with that weapon.” Travion admitted, straightening up and turning to Evax. “Just try to communicate more, yeah?” There was an earnestness to his voice and in his eyes that took Evax back a bit. He gulped, then nodded.

“Fair enough!” Evax said, perhaps a little more high pitched than his usual voice. No one seemed to notice however; Rose was looking up at the Traveler, while Travion just smiled and nodded once.

“Now that that’s over,” Fury began. “I have much to do tonight. Calcified fragments to translate, meditations to complete, et cetera...” he began to turn away, quite excited for a little rest, but as usual the Vanguard has other plans. His Ghost, PB&J (a name Evax had furiously argued against) suddenly flashed to life before him.

“Incoming communication from Ikora Rey!” The female Ghost said in her usual chipper voice.

“Fireteam Alpha. We have an urgent mission for you. Please come to the Vanguard Chambers to receive your objectives.”

There was a collective sigh amongst them. A mere hour after defeating a machine god, singlehandedly ending the SIVA epidemic once and for all, and clearing the Cosmodrome to mark it a safe patrol space- they were due for more work. As they walked to the chambers, their usual talkative demeanors had faded. Evax, like his teammates, was troubled greatly. The Vanguard calling on them so soon after a mission? Sure, the Guardians were spread thin as it is, but to skip the usual rotations? Fireteam Decem should’ve been the ones taking the next big mission, and behind them, Alixion- Evax grimaced slightly. Sometimes he forgot what had become of Fireteam Alixion. He wished he could scrub the memory out of his mind, the green soulfire, the ashes, the fragments of innocent, good, kind Ghosts-

He tried his best to clear his mind as they came to a door inscribed with the golden sigil of the Vanguard. Fury-Eight presses his hand to a panel on the left of the door, and with a click it slid to the side. The room was dim, lit only by an orange hologram projected over the table set in the center of the room. Around the table stood four; the impressive presence of the Awoken Titan Vanguard, Zavala; with a dignified air stood Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard; and lounging on a chair he’d drawn up, twirling his hand cannon, was Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard. Most shocking, however, was the fourth- for the Fallen Variks, the Loyal stood in the room, slightly hunched, looking supremely uncomfortable.

“Variks?” Evax said, disbelieving what he was seeing; Variks inclined his head in a show of respect, before speaking in his raspy voice.

“Lightbearers, is good to see you once more. Reef...” Variks pauses, making an odd noise, trying to pass it off as an issue with the device that allows him to properly speak English. Evax knows full and well why he paused. “Petra Venj, Queen’s Wrath, sends Variks to discuss issue with Lightbearer Vanguard.”

“Issue?” Rose questioned, eyebrow quirked.

“The Reef doesn’t normally come to us with issues,” Travion said slowly, weighing his words. “What could possibly be such an issue that you’d require our intervention?”

“Not that we mind,” Rose cut in quickly, with a cool look at Travion. Cayde-Six scoffed.

“They’re spread thin more worse‘n we are. Looks like we got another incursion of Fallen, might as well have us do the dirty work.” Cayde remarked, in an uncharacteristically grumpy way.

“Cayde.” Ikora said warningly. Cayde just shrugged.

“The last vestiges of the Fallen houses, those not aligned now with the House of Judgement, have banded together under Siviks, Lost To None. They... disagree with the direction the Fallen have began to take.” Zavala supplied, clearly trying to get to the point.

“Siviks is brother of Reef ally. Hates humans, much. Is what you would call- anarchist. Wants to burn it all, Eliksni, Human, Reefborn. He wants control. Eliksni pride at low- Siviks lowers it.” Variks sneers that last part. “Chasing myth, Siviks is. Black Armory myth, powerful weapon forges. Without Siviks, Eliksni can reunite. Rebuild. Repair.” Variks bows his head. “Lightbearers earn light. Eliksni better ally than enemy.” Evax smiled kindly to this; Variks was ambitious, but with the Fallen- no, the Eliksni, perhaps the fight against the Darkness would be just a little easier. For Variks to come here and make the offer, Evax saw no other option.

“We’ll do it.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

_“Don’t the Guardians always fight the Fallen?”_

_“Yes, but not everything is good versus evil. The Fallen were once called the Eliksni, and the Traveler visited their home world, but the Darkness attacked. Their society collapsed.”_

_“Why didn’t the Traveler leave us?”_

_“Perhaps it saw a better future on Earth. Maybe it thought the Eliksni had to fall before they could become something greater.”_

 

 

///

 

 

“Manhattan, once a pulse of Earth in the time before and during the Golden Age. The last bastion of Azerem, the Risen; the final stop on Phamol’s destructive tour across the Earth. The location of the first assault of the Fallen. The House Of Devils tore their way through the unprepared cloudshields, and sowed chaos upon the populous. So awful was their hold, the Earth’s governing body could only see fit to drop a nuclear bomb on it, the last known use of nuclear energy. It’s been quarantined ever since, due to the air- a deadly mixture ofdecaying Ether and nuclear radiation.” Fury-Eight read out loud from his research journal. The four jumpships flew through the densely clouded sky, all four Guardians silent in preparation for what they could be facing.

“Siviks wishes to harness the Black Armory forge, to create new weapons of mass destruction. And here there was rumored to be one, a hidden Forge.” Variks spoke over the comms. The Eliksni was within the Vanguard Chambers, surveying the fireteam Ghost feeds. “Wear helmets, yes?” He says with something that Evax supposed was humor.

The four jumpships broke through the clouds, gaining their first sight of Manhattan. The island was clouded with thick mists, a sickly mix of grey and blue and green. The skyscrapers that once stood proud had either been vaporized in the nuclear blast, or stood as skeletons of their former glory. Evax flipped some switches on the control panel, before nodding to Eli. The Ghost shuddered slightly, and Evax’s helmet materialized over his head. He took a deep breath.

“Transmat point is down, fireteam.” Rose said, her tone, as always, calm and coolly determined. Evax anchored his ship just above the noxious cloud of decayed Ether, and with another shudder, Eli sent the both of them deep below into the mists.

 

 

///

 

 

“This is horrible.” Travion mutters, his shotgun slung over his shoulder. Evax was inclined to agree; on the ground level, the wreckage was even worse. Rusted remnants of cars. Small items- perhaps an old purse, an old telephone device, a children’s toy (that one struck Evax as the worst of all). Skeletons, too. Evax didn’t think there was a point they hadn’t passed by one- human and Fallen alike. Fury-Eight paused to crouch next to a rusted shell of an Exo, the light in its eyes long extinguished, half of its body torn open, intricate machinery having spilled to the ground. Fury placed his hand on the forehead of the corpse, and bowed his head.

As he passed in front of what surely had been a bookstore, Evax noticed the dusty old books that had spilled out onto the street. They were all quite singed, but one, oddly enough, looked brand new. Its cover was reddish-brown, the text embellished into it in golden foil.

_FAIRY TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE_

 

_COLLECTED BY MIDNIGHT AMENDER_

Memory sparked in Evax. As he tried to zero in on just what the memory had been, something appeared on the edges of the book. Something flickering, ever so slightly glowing- was it blue? As he tried to concentrate on it, the book seemed to inflate, seemed to become almost inverted- Evax heard a voice- wake up, Evax, wake up!- but there was a loud metallic clatter behind him, and his head snapped up to his companions. 

Travion has his Lord of Wolves aimed down a hole in the street; Evax realized he had flipped up the manhole cover.

“This is it.” Travion said simply, flipping the bulky Fallen shotgun over onto his back and beginning to descend down into the sewer. Evax looked to Fury, who just shrugged, and Rose, who was already climbing down behind Travion. Fury-Eight sighed, and went in after them. Before he went down with his team, Evax glanced over his shoulder to where the book was.

It was gone.

 

 

_///_

 

 

The sewers has long since run dry, any lights that had lit them defective. The fireteams’ Ghosts lit the way for them. Evax glanced at Fury-Eight, who had one of his Old Fashioned handcannons grasped tightly in his right hand, the other hand just barely crackling with Void energy. Rose was calmer in front of them; she merely held her Hunter knife, but her own handcannon was holstered, and her bow hung on her back. The bulky form of Travion led the way, now only carrying his Khvostov 7G-0X, aimed and prepared for anything that lay before them. Their fireteam didn’t have a defined leader; they implicitly trusted each other to lead situationally. But all too often, Travion insisted on leading in a situation that could quickly degrade into danger. Some part of Evax’s brain, some unexplored terrain, hated that Travion did it. It would only take one good shot, with the right bullet- and Travion would be gone forever. Evax loved them all dearly, but he supposed Travion falling would the worst blow of all.

“Scans?” Rose asked her Ghost, Excalibur. Its deep and resonant voice replied with exactly what they’d all been seeing- nothing yet. Just long, long stretches of derelict, cement sewers.

“This isn’t right.” Fury-Eight muttered. “Variks said that Siviks had amassed forces on the level of the House of Devils. We should’ve been swarmed.” Fury nervously flexed his hand with the gun, finger slowly approaching the trigger. Evax tightened his grip on his Scathelocke rifle. He worried he and Fury’s nervous energy would pass onto Travion, but he was silent, still diligently prepared for oncoming attack. An impenetrable wall, as ever.

“Unless...” Rose started slowly, “unless it’s a trap.”

“Trap?” Evax asked a little more nervously than he’d intended. Rose drew her handcannon, but even she was too late. 

A Fallen Wretch phased out of glassy invisibility with a roar, electroblades striking; Evax managed to duck just in time, but Fury-Eight was too slow. The crackling blade drove into his abdomen, and he fell against the wall with a grunt. The Fallen’s fourth arm grabbed Evax by his head with surprising strength, but before he could react, there was a bang. The grip slackened as the Wretch fell, Ether spilling out of the place where its head had been. Travion gripped Evax by his arm and helped him up, while Rose checked on Fury. Her handcannon was still smoking.

“You okay?” Travion said in his gruff voice, and Evax nodded, gulping heavily. Travion’s hand lingered on his shoulder.

“Just took us by surprise.”

He watched as Fury’s Ghost healed the sparking wound. Fury-Eight seemed to be chuckling.

“Could ya imagine if I had died from a Wretch?” He said, attempting to lighten the generally shocked mood. Evax respected the attempt.

“They know we’re here.” Travion said, head turning in all directions, keeping watch.

“You see one Fallen, more are sure to come.” Rose added, reloading her handcannon. Fury-Eight kicked the corpse of the Wretch.

“Question is, do we stay here and wait? Far as we know, they own these sewers.” Evax said, eyes on Travion, waiting for any sign that the Titan had seen something.

“We’d be sitting ducks. If they attack en masse, we’d run out of ammo long before we even put a dent in their numbers.” Rose said, and Evax quite agreed. “We go up topside, we have more room. Enough space to shelter safely, if we need.”

“Do you all even remember the route we took?” Fury-Eight asked tentatively. Rose sighed.

“It was a straight path, Fury, for the love of-“

“Guys...” Travion began. His back was to them, facing straight ahead. Evax followed his gaze, and saw, distantly down the darkness of the sewer, a whole lot of glowing blue dots, rapidly growing closer. “Let’s go!” Travion roared; Evax threw a solar grenade down as he took off, a miniature sun lighting the sewer up. As he looked back, he saw thousands of Fallen rapidly approaching, and so single-mindedly determined in their chase, they would fall to the intense heat of the sun-like grenade.

“Nice one!” Travion yelled, and Evax smiled despite the inherent danger they were in.

Up ahead, Evax could see the opening; grayish light poured into the sewer in a pillar. Rose got there first, taking one large jump out. Fury-Eight did the same, and Travion slowed slightly.

“Go!” He yelled, and Evax didn’t have the time to argue, no matter how much he wanted too. He leapt up, grabbing the edge of the hole, and pulled himself out in a fluid motion. He could see blue bolts of energy flying by in the sewer, and that one second felt like hours-

There was a flash of light and the sizzle of electricity; Travion leapt up just in time, as arcs of electrical energy exploded along the sewer. Fury-Eight flipped the manhole cover back on, and, thinking quickly, threw down his solar grenade; the steel quickly melted, fusing the manhole shut, for now.

“We have to go,” Rose stated simply. “Get some cover and make a plan. They know we’re here, they’ll be patrolling these streets in no time.”

Evax nodded, taking a deep breath. Travion had been too close to getting stuck in that storm of arc energy.

“What the hell was that down there?” Fury asked the Titan, a question that had been on Evax’s mind.

“One of the captains had some sort of... grenade launcher. But they stuck to the walls around me, surrounded me.” Travion said it flatly, and Evax knew then the brush with death had shaken Travion up. That army of Fallen would’ve captured him, and his Ghost.

“We have to move quickly.” Travion declared, changing the subject, and Evax was inclined to agree. 

In the distance, he could hear the roars of the Fallen, as they set out to hunt.

 


	3. Chapter 3

_“Don’t the Guardians always fight the Fallen?”_

_“Yes, but not everything is good versus evil. The Fallen were once called the Eliksni, and the Traveler visited their home world, but the Darkness attacked. Their society collapsed.”_

_“Why didn’t the Traveler leave us?”_

_“Perhaps it saw a better future on Earth. Maybe it thought the Eliksni had to fall before they could become something greater.”_

 

 

 

///

 

 

“Manhattan, once a pulse of Earth in the time before and during the Golden Age. The last bastion of Azerem, the Risen; the final stop on Phamol’s destructive tour across the Earth. The location of the first assault of the Fallen. The House Of Devils tore their way through the unprepared cloudshields, and sowed chaos upon the populous. So awful was their hold, the Earth’s governing body could only see fit to drop a nuclear bomb on it, the last known use of nuclear energy. It’s been quarantined ever since, due to the air- a deadly mixture ofdecaying Ether and nuclear radiation.” Fury-Eight read out loud from his research journal. The four jumpships flew through the densely clouded sky, all four Guardians silent in preparation for what they could be facing.

“Siviks wishes to harness the Black Armory forge, to create new weapons of mass destruction. And here there was rumored to be one, a hidden Forge.” Variks spoke over the comms. The Eliksni was within the Vanguard Chambers, surveying the fireteam Ghost feeds. “Wear helmets, yes?” He says with something that Evax supposed was humor.

The four jumpships broke through the clouds, gaining their first sight of Manhattan. The island was clouded with thick mists, a sickly mix of grey and blue and green. The skyscrapers that once stood proud had either been vaporized in the nuclear blast, or stood as skeletons of their former glory. Evax flipped some switches on the control panel, before nodding to Eli. The Ghost shuddered slightly, and Evax’s helmet materialized over his head. He took a deep breath.

“Transmat point is down, fireteam.” Rose said, her tone, as always, calm and coolly determined. Evax anchored his ship just above the noxious cloud of decayed Ether, and with another shudder, Eli sent the both of them deep below into the mists.

 

 

///

 

 

“This is horrible.” Travion mutters, his shotgun slung over his shoulder. Evax was inclined to agree; on the ground level, the wreckage was even worse. Rusted remnants of cars. Small items- perhaps an old purse, an old telephone device, a children’s toy (that one struck Evax as the worst of all). Skeletons, too. Evax didn’t think there was a point they hadn’t passed by one- human and Fallen alike. Fury-Eight paused to crouch next to a rusted shell of an Exo, the light in its eyes long extinguished, half of its body torn open, intricate machinery having spilled to the ground. Fury placed his hand on the forehead of the corpse, and bowed his head.

As he passed in front of what surely had been a bookstore, Evax noticed the dusty old books that had spilled out onto the street. They were all quite singed, but one, oddly enough, looked brand new. Its cover was reddish-brown, the text embellished into it in golden foil.

_FAIRY TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE_

 

_COLLECTED BY MIDNIGHT AMENDER_

Memory sparked in Evax. As he tried to zero in on just what the memory had been, something appeared on the edges of the book. Something flickering, ever so slightly glowing- was it blue? As he tried to concentrate on it, the book seemed to inflate, seemed to become almost inverted- Evax heard a voice- wake up, Evax, wake up!- but there was a loud metallic clatter behind him, and his head snapped up to his companions. 

Travion has his Lord of Wolves aimed down a hole in the street; Evax realized he had flipped up the manhole cover.

“This is it.” Travion said simply, flipping the bulky Fallen shotgun over onto his back and beginning to descend down into the sewer. Evax looked to Fury, who just shrugged, and Rose, who was already climbing down behind Travion. Fury-Eight sighed, and went in after them. Before he went down with his team, Evax glanced over his shoulder to where the book was.

It was gone.

 

 

_///_

 

 

The sewers has long since run dry, any lights that had lit them defective. The fireteams’ Ghosts lit the way for them. Evax glanced at Fury-Eight, who had one of his Old Fashioned handcannons grasped tightly in his right hand, the other hand just barely crackling with Void energy. Rose was calmer in front of them; she merely held her Hunter knife, but her own handcannon was holstered, and her bow hung on her back. The bulky form of Travion led the way, now only carrying his Khvostov 7G-0X, aimed and prepared for anything that lay before them. Their fireteam didn’t have a defined leader; they implicitly trusted each other to lead situationally. But all too often, Travion insisted on leading in a situation that could quickly degrade into danger. Some part of Evax’s brain, some unexplored terrain, hated that Travion did it. It would only take one good shot, with the right bullet- and Travion would be gone forever. Evax loved them all dearly, but he supposed Travion falling would the worst blow of all.

“Scans?” Rose asked her Ghost, Excalibur. Its deep and resonant voice replied with exactly what they’d all been seeing- nothing yet. Just long, long stretches of derelict, cement sewers.

“This isn’t right.” Fury-Eight muttered. “Variks said that Siviks had amassed forces on the level of the House of Devils. We should’ve been swarmed.” Fury nervously flexed his hand with the gun, finger slowly approaching the trigger. Evax tightened his grip on his Scathelocke rifle. He worried he and Fury’s nervous energy would pass onto Travion, but he was silent, still diligently prepared for oncoming attack. An impenetrable wall, as ever.

“Unless...” Rose started slowly, “unless it’s a trap.”

“Trap?” Evax asked a little more nervously than he’d intended. Rose drew her handcannon, but even she was too late. 

A Fallen Wretch phased out of glassy invisibility with a roar, electroblades striking; Evax managed to duck just in time, but Fury-Eight was too slow. The crackling blade drove into his abdomen, and he fell against the wall with a grunt. The Fallen’s fourth arm grabbed Evax by his head with surprising strength, but before he could react, there was a bang. The grip slackened as the Wretch fell, Ether spilling out of the place where its head had been. Travion gripped Evax by his arm and helped him up, while Rose checked on Fury. Her handcannon was still smoking.

“You okay?” Travion said in his gruff voice, and Evax nodded, gulping heavily. Travion’s hand lingered on his shoulder.

“Just took us by surprise.”

He watched as Fury’s Ghost healed the sparking wound. Fury-Eight seemed to be chuckling.

“Could ya imagine if I had died from a Wretch?” He said, attempting to lighten the generally shocked mood. Evax respected the attempt.

“They know we’re here.” Travion said, head turning in all directions, keeping watch.

“You see one Fallen, more are sure to come.” Rose added, reloading her handcannon. Fury-Eight kicked the corpse of the Wretch.

“Question is, do we stay here and wait? Far as we know, they own these sewers.” Evax said, eyes on Travion, waiting for any sign that the Titan had seen something.

“We’d be sitting ducks. If they attack en masse, we’d run out of ammo long before we even put a dent in their numbers.” Rose said, and Evax quite agreed. “We go up topside, we have more room. Enough space to shelter safely, if we need.”

“Do you all even remember the route we took?” Fury-Eight asked tentatively. Rose sighed.

“It was a straight path, Fury, for the love of-“

“Guys...” Travion began. His back was to them, facing straight ahead. Evax followed his gaze, and saw, distantly down the darkness of the sewer, a whole lot of glowing blue dots, rapidly growing closer. “Let’s go!” Travion roared; Evax threw a solar grenade down as he took off, a miniature sun lighting the sewer up. As he looked back, he saw thousands of Fallen rapidly approaching, and so single-mindedly determined in their chase, they would fall to the intense heat of the sun-like grenade.

“Nice one!” Travion yelled, and Evax smiled despite the inherent danger they were in.

Up ahead, Evax could see the opening; grayish light poured into the sewer in a pillar. Rose got there first, taking one large jump out. Fury-Eight did the same, and Travion slowed slightly.

“Go!” He yelled, and Evax didn’t have the time to argue, no matter how much he wanted too. He leapt up, grabbing the edge of the hole, and pulled himself out in a fluid motion. He could see blue bolts of energy flying by in the sewer, and that one second felt like hours-

There was a flash of light and the sizzle of electricity; Travion leapt up just in time, as arcs of electrical energy exploded along the sewer. Fury-Eight flipped the manhole cover back on, and, thinking quickly, threw down his solar grenade; the steel quickly melted, fusing the manhole shut, for now.

“We have to go,” Rose stated simply. “Get some cover and make a plan. They know we’re here, they’ll be patrolling these streets in no time.”

Evax nodded, taking a deep breath. Travion had been too close to getting stuck in that storm of arc energy.

“What the hell was that down there?” Fury asked the Titan, a question that had been on Evax’s mind.

“One of the captains had some sort of... grenade launcher. But they stuck to the walls around me, surrounded me.” Travion said it flatly, and Evax knew then the brush with death had shaken Travion up. That army of Fallen would’ve captured him, and his Ghost.

“We have to move quickly.” Travion declared, changing the subject, and Evax was inclined to agree. 

In the distance, he could hear the roars of the Fallen, as they set out to hunt.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_ “Dad, that grenade launcher...” _

_ “It was commonly used by the Fallen, especially Siviks’ House.” _

_ “But Uncle Kazian-“ _

“ _Shh, it’s okay, s0n.”_

 

_***_

 

The fireteam had set up in the top floor of one of the few standing skyscrapers. It was a little more crumbly than Evax would’ve preferred, the vast majority of its windows busted, even the lightest breeze causing it to groan, but he supposed it would do.

Fury-Eight had set himself up in a corner, idly fidgeting with his hand cannon; Rose was crouched at a window, sniper set up on the sill, slowly moving the gun as she intently peered into the scope, occasionally giving updates on the movements of the Fallen bands. Travion stood by the doorway that they had haphazardly blocked with rubble, while Evax could only lean against a wall. The adrenaline from the sewer fight had worn off for the most part, but he still felt energy pulsing through him. He almost wanted some dregs to find them, just so he could use some of the restless fire in him.

‘Wishing for a fight?’ Eli said in an unreadable tone through the psychic link. Evax tried his hardest to portray an eye roll through his mind. ‘That’s how you all are, I suppose I’m not shocked.’ Now the Ghost sounded thoughtful.

‘It’s what we have to do, Eli.’ Evax replied. His eyes scanned the room once again; Rose was still cool and determined as ever. He was sure if she wasn’t helmeted, her face would be a mask of calm. Fury appeared just as restless, naturally. Always similar, were Fury and Evax. And Travion was still impassive as ever, still as stone. Evax wondered if he, too, was discussing something with his Ghost.

‘You worry for him still? After all this time?’ Eli asked. Evax was sure the Ghost could just peer into his mind and find the answers, but he appreciated that Eli would rather ask.

‘I worry about them all. Travion can be too reckless for his own good, though. Whatever that weapon was, it could’ve killed him if he was even a second slower. They would’ve gotten his Ghost, and he’d be gone.’

‘He always makes it out.’

‘It’ll just take one time where he doesn’t.’

The conversation was cut short by the sharp snap of sniper fire; all eyes turned to Rose.

“Single dregs walking the streets. Seems more like recon.” She said matter-of-factory, and another shot rang out. 

Evax jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Get some sleep, Ev. You’re practically radiating nervous energy.” Travion spoke reassuringly, squeezing Evax’s shoulder. “Pass the time with rest.” 

“But-“

“We’ll be fine. We’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Evax did feel paradoxically tired, so he simply nodded, and set to begin assembling a sleeping space the best he could. Always on long missions like this, there were certain things that were brought aboard their jumpships; luckily, a few plush cushions and blankets were packed, though they paled in comparison to Evax’s bed back in the tower. It felt odd to be getting in bed by himself (which was odd- he lived in his own quarters- didn’t he?), but he did nonetheless. Sleeping in armor was never the most comfortable, but he positioned himself the best he could. Eli gave him a much appreciated psychic prod, and soon he felt himself drifting off.

 

***

 

Gold. So very much gold surrounded him, but it wasn’t the golden opulence that he had seen on Calus’ Leviathan; this was a golden energy, fluctuating and sparking. Jumbled voices struck him, then a frustrated grunt. He felt himself shifting. Shapes began to resolve themselves in the golden energy; a red eye, glowing brighter and brighter; a jade coin; an evil looking gun, all jagged edges and green light; Travion, screaming; Rose, shocked; Fury-Eight’s eyes fading. 

Just when he felt he could take no more, he was in darkness.

“HE’S PASSING THROUGH SIMULATIONS- MOVE HIM TO THE SOUTHERNMOST POINT OF THE BRANCH- SAGIRA!” A too loud voice boomed.

 

***

 

“-up! Wake up, Evax!”

The booming voice and the gold energy faded quick, crashing back into reality. Evax awoke in their makeshift base, expecting fire and Fallen screeching and the blast of gunfire- but only saw Fury-Eight and Travion above him. He smelled something rather like vanilla, but the scent faded just as soon as he noticed it.

“What- what’s wrong, have they found us?” Evax asked, his throat somewhat scratchy.

“No, but they would’ve if you hadn’t stopped screaming.” Fury said, helping Evax stand. The Guardian’s legs felt wobbly, so he appreciated the help immensely. Travion patted him on the back.

“Was it a nightmare?” He asked somewhat quietly. Evax gulped.

“No, no, it was... well...” Golden energy, terrifying visions- wait, no. He hasn’t dreamt. He had fallen asleep and awoken a moment later. “Nothing. I didn’t dream of anything.” Evax said truthfully. Travion was quiet for a moment, as if not believing him, but Fury seemed to take him at his word.

“Well, your dreams are nothing, mine are significantly traumatic. Apples to segnaro, apples to oranges.”

“Some activity near the square,” Rose said, cutting through Fury’s attempt at lightening the situation. 

“What is it?” Evax said, desperate for something to focus on that wasn’t Travion’s silence.

“It’s a big squad of them, they’re just... standing.” Rose tossed a pair of binoculars to Evax without looking back, and he walked up to the window and looked.

Indeed, there was a sizable of chunk of Fallen forces congregating on that specific square. Their weapons were drawn, though they weren’t in a formation. They weren’t moving much, it was like they were... waiting. He zeroed in on a captain, clad in the gold and grey of the Sivik’s Scourge. 

“Rose, that captain...”

“I got him.” She said simply, and fired her shot; the captain fell back, a fountain of ether spraying from the place his head had been. The Fallen barely reacted, merely moved out of the way of the body.

Evax passed the binoculars to Travion, hoping he would glean something from it.

“Guys...” Fury said warningly, as if he realized something. Travion’s eyes widened.

“GET DOWN!” He roared, his body pulsing with Void light. Rose rolled backwards, her sniper disappearing in blue light, Sturm taking its place. Fury dropped to the ground, loading his Old Fashioneds, and Evax did the same, scathelocke clutched in his hands like a lifeline. Within half a second, they were surrounded by a bubble of Void light; Evax’s ears popped as the pressure changed. There was a moment where nothing happened- just the crackling of the protective bubble- but then there was a high pitched whine, growing closer and closer. Evax’s eyes widened.

The room brightened a hundredfold as the rocket launcher met the bubble; the sound was like thunder, and the force shook Evax’s bones. Fire spread across the purple surface of the bubble, and for a moment Evax believed that it had worked, that Travion had, like always, protected them from certain death.

Then the floor crumbled.

Evax looked up just in time to see Travion turning his head to him, and then he was falling, motion blurring to a sickening level. He couldn’t see anything for the smoke and dust and fire, and he grew uncomfortably hot in his armor. Of course they had chosen the tallest building.

Over the comms, he could only hear the sounds of screaming and struggling; surely by now the Fallen would be en route to their former hideout, and before their ghosts could resurrect them, the Fallen would obliterate the little lights. The dust began to clear, and Evax watched as the ground more steadily approached.

Thirty feet.

“ELI! IN TEN FEET, DEPLOY THE SPARROW!” He roared. He could feel the fear in Eli, but the Ghost gave him the affirmative. With a rush of relief, he could hear his teammates yelling nearly the same thing to their own Ghosts.

20 feet.

Evax clutched Scathelocke even harder, took as deep a breath as he could.

“NOW!”

A shimmer of blue light, and his sparrow was under him, awkwardly positioned but under him nonetheless. He struggled to get himself positioned right, as the looming Earth careened toward him.

He fired the thrusters, and the sparrow bounced, hard, and sped forward onto the cracked street. Evax’s midsection erupted in agony.

‘Punctured lung- perforated intestine- ruptured aorta-‘ Eli was saying quickly, voice wobbling with fear.

‘Just heal me, quick!’ Evax thought-shouted, his vision darkening as the pain worsened. He couldn’t draw even the smallest breath, his heart was pounding but each beat was immeasurable pain-

A shimmer of blue light, and he could draw breath.

‘Thanks, Eli.’ Evax gasped.

“Stupid plan, but it worked!” Fury-Eight shouted over comms. Evax looked back at his team behind him; Rose was the closest, hand cannon already at the ready in front of her; Travion was leaning forwards, calmly determined; and Fury-Eight looked simply excited, though sparking a little more than usual.

The Fallen were ahead of them, running over the old rubble to meet the fireteam head on. Already sizzling blue bolts of energy were whizzing last Evax. He aimed his rifle, and pulled the trigger.

 

***

 

THE LONE GUARDIAN PT. 1 (“Is it future, or is it past?”)

 

The dark room infuriated Declan.

The spotlight he stood in kept him in plain sight of the Nine at all times, but he couldn’t see them. Yet, what was there to see? He wondered if they were visible at all. Perhaps a mass of dark particulates, akin to a cartoon swarm of flies. Or maybe they were invisible, spread so thin in the fabric of reality that only truesighted ones could even glimpse their supposed majesty.

He holstered his shotgun (so generously gifted to him by the group) and threw a Vex harpy cranium to the ground.

“There. Now will you tell me why you want this stuff?” He demanded. The air in the room shifted, and Declan could feel their chuckle through it.

++WE KEEP IT FROM YOU FOR A R E A S O N++

“No good reason to keep it from me, s’far as I can see.”

++IT IS A MATTER OF GRAVE IMPORTANCE TO YOUR VANGUARD.++

Declan perked up at this.

“So it’s Vanguard business?”

++WE SEE THE WARP AND THE WEFT OF WHAT IS OR WILL BE. BE GLAD WE HELP.++

“We’re still in the stage where you speak riddles to me, huh?” Yet again, that shift in the air.

++TRAVEL TO THE PRISON OF ELDERS. PETRA VENJ AND VARIKS WILL BE THERE. YOU WILL FIND YOUR NEXT TASK WHERE YOUR EYES SHOULD NOT BE.++

Declan felt his atoms shift like sand in the wind, and his vision overtaking by a blurry blue light... and he was back on his ship, in an empty sector between Earth and Mars. He gave a long suffering sigh.

“To the Reef, then?” EightySix, his Ghost, asked genially. Declan nodded.

“Yeah, buddy. To the Reef.”

“Maybe they’ll know what happened to Fury-Eight.” The Ghost said. Declan remember orange eyes filled with crushing sadness, and silently, he hoped they would.

 

 


End file.
